James murphy



(No Model.)

J. MURPHY. PADLOGK Patented Mar. 3, 1896.

M. PHDTOLITHQWASHINGI'OKU C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES MURPHY, OF TERRYVILLE, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE EAGLE LOCK COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

PAD LOC K.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 555,728, dated March 3, 1896.

Application filed October 7, 1895. Serial No. 564,973. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J'AMEs MURPHY, of Terryville, in the county of Litchfield and State of Connecticut, have invented a new Improvement in Padlocks; and I do hereby declarethe following, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the same, and which said drawings constitute part of this specification, and represent, in-

Figure 1, a front view of the lock with the cap of its case removed and its shackle and lockwork shown in their locked positions Fig. 2, a similar View with the shackle and lockwork shown in their unlocked positions; Fig. 3, a detached view of one of the tumblers; Fig. 4, a detached View of the guard or safety device; Fig. 5, a detached view of one of the modified forms which the tumblers may assume.

This invention relates to an improvement in self-locking padlocks having spring-actuated tumblers which cannot be jarred into their unlocked positions. Heretofore such locks have been open to the objection that when unlocked and with their shackles in their open positions their tumblers might be displaced by jarring, so as to require the use of the key to bring them into right position preparatory to and to permit the re-eniering of the nose of the shackle into the case in the locking of the look. This preliminary use of the key is perplexing to those not fully conversant with such a lock and is wasteful of time and inconvenient.

The object of my present invention is to avoid this objection and to produce a simple and safe lock composed of fewparts and constructed with particular reference not only to positively locking the tumblers in their locked positions when they are engaged with the shackle, but also to positively holding them against displacement by jarring, when the lock is unlocked and the shackle is in its open position, and thereby avoiding the use of the key preparatory to re-entering the shackle into the lock-case and looking it therein.

With these ends in view my invention consists in the combination, with the shackle of a padlock, of a tumbler, and a guard adapted to coact with the key, which retires it preparatory to unlocking the tumbler, and with the tumbler, which it positively holds against displacement when the lock is locked and when it is unlocked, and constructed to coact with the pivoted end of the shackle, which retires it to release the tumbler preparatory to the re-entrance of .its own nose into the OELSO.

My invention further consists in certain details of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In carrying out my invention I employ a safety device, which for convenience I shall call a guard. This consists, as shown, of a plate E, having a small hole E formed in its upper end for the reception of a small stud h, located in the upper portion of the case A of the padlock, and forming the center on which the guard is swung into its active and retired positions. The said guard is provided at its upper end with a stump g, which coacts with a locking-notch 6, formed in the tumbler I), in holding the same against displacement by jarring when the lock is locked and when it is unlocked, the said notch opening into a clearance-slot 6, also formed in the said tumbler, and permitting the same to swing free of the stump. The said tumbler, which swings upon a stud d, is hook-shaped at its upper end for engagement with the notched nose C of the shackle and provided with a spring D, which exerts a constant effort to swing it into its active position. I have shown only one tumbler; but obviously a plurality may be, and probably will be, employed. The said guard is formed at its lower end with an arm G, which coacts with the key which engages with the said arm to swing the guard into its retired position, in which its stump g is lifted out of the locking-notch a into the clearance-slot 6 before it engages with the tumbler to swing the same to disengage its hooked upper end from the notched nose of the shackle in unlocking the lock. The said guard is also formed, near its upper end, with an arm F, which coacts with an operating-arm h forming an extension of the pivoted end of the shackle, which is hung upon a stud a, forming the center upon which it swings. A clearance-slot f formed in the guard clears the stud (Z of the tumbler, which enters it. The said arm Z) is furnished with a pin 1) engaged by the shackle-spring e, which exerts a constant effort to throw the shackle into its open position. The arm I) aforesaid engages with the said arm of the guard when the shackle is being swung on its stud a into its closed position, and swings the guard into its retired position so as to lift the stump g of the guard out of the lockingnoteh e of the tumbler into the clearance slot 6 thereof to release the tumbler preparatory to and to permit the notched nose of the shackle to be re-entered into the case and re engaged with the tumbler, which yields to permit the notched nose of the shackle to pass below its hooked upper end. It is to be explained in this connection that as soon as the lock is unlocked and the shackle thrown into its open position by its spring 0 the tumbler is swung back by its spring into its locked position, in which it is at once locked against displacement by jarring by the swinging of the guard E under the action of its spring '11 downward into its active position, in which its stump re-enters the locking-notch of the tumbler.

In the locked position of the shackle and lockwork shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings the hooked upper end of the tumbler is engaged with the notched nose of the shackle, the stump g of the guard E entered into the locking-noteh c of the tumbler, and the arm G of the guard left in position to be engaged by the key and actuated thereby prior to the engagement and actuation of the tumbler thereby. Under these conditions it is apparent that the stump of the guard positively locks the tumbler in the locked position thereof, for the tumbler cannot possibly be swung into its unlocked position or in that direction until the guard has first been operated to lift its stump 9 out of the lockingnotch e of the tumbler into the clearanceslot 6 thereof. Now when the key is int-roduced into the lock and turned it coacts with the arm G of the guard and swings the guard upward on its pivot it until its stump g is lifted out of the locking-notch c of the tumbler into the clearance-notch c thereof, the guard being, as it were, retired. The tumbler having 110w been unlocked, so far as the guard is concerned, the key engages with it and swings it into its unlocked position, thus disengaging its hooked upper end from the notched nose of the shackle, which is thrown into its open position by the spring 0 just as soon as it is cleared by the tumbler. \Vhen the key is removed from the lock and therefore disengaged from the guard and the tumbler, the tumbler immediately returns under the action of its spring to its locked position and the guard immediatelyreturns under the action of its spring to its active position, its stump re-entering the locking-notch of the tumbler, which is thus positively locked or held in its locked position while the shackle is open, so that so long as the padlock is unlocked and the shackle is open the tumbler cannot be jarred out of position.

Now when the shackle is swung on its pivot preparatory to reentering its nose into the 1ock-case its operating-arm 11 engages with the arm F of the guard and swin the same upward on its pivot, so as to lift the stump out of the locking-notch c of the tumbler and into the clearance-notch 0 thereof, thus unlocking the tumbler, so that when the notched and beveled nose of the shackle engages with the hooked and beveled upper end of the tumbler the same will be free to yield against the tension of its spring and permit the said nose to pass it and re-engage with it after it has been fully entered into the case. B y this time the arm of the shackle will have cleared the arm F of the guard, so as to permit the same to be swung downward by its spring into its active position, in which its stump is entered into the locking-notch e of the tumbler, which is again locked in its locked position.

It will be seen from the foregoing that when the padlock is locked the tumbler is positively held in its locked position by means of the guard, and is unlocked or freed preparatory to the release of the shackle by means of the key, which swings the guard and lifts the stump thereof out of the locking-notch of the tumbler. It will further be seen that when the padlock is unlocked and the shackle is in its open position the tumbler is positively held against being displaced by jarring by means of the guard, which is moved for releasing the tumbler by the operating-arm. of the shackle, which in the discharge of that function maybe said to take the place of the key. In my improved construction, therefore, the tumbler is not only held from being jarred out of position so as to permit the padlock to be opened without the key, but when the padlock is unlocked the tumbler is positively held so that it cannot be jarred out of position so as to require the use of the key preparatory to the self-closing action of the 1oek,which is, therefore, when opened, always ready to be closed without the use of its key.

It is apparent that in carrying out my inven tion changes from the particular construction shown and described may be resorted to. Thus, instead of constructing the tumbler or tumblers with a clearance-slot c and a lockin g-notch c, I may form them with two notches j and 7.3, as shown in Fig. 5, respectively taking the place of the slot 0 and the notch e and coacting with the stump in substantially the manner already set forth. I would therefore have it understood that I do not limit myself to the construction shown, but hold myself at liberty to make such changes and alterations as fairly fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a padlock, the combination with the shackle thereof, of a tumbler which engages with the nose of the shackle to hold the same in its closed position, and a guard adapted to coact with the key which retires it preparatory to actuating the tumbler in releasing the bolt, and adapted to coact with the tumbler which it positively holds against displacement when the lock is locked and when the lock is unlocked, and the said guard being constructed to coact with the pivoted end of the shackle which retires it to release the tumbler preparatory to the re-entrance of the nose of the shackle into the case, substantially as described.

2. In a padlock, the combination with a shackle having an operating-arm forming an shackle when the same is being swung from its open into its closed position, and furnished with a stump which engages with the tumbler and positively holds the same against displacement when the lock is locked and when the lock is unlocked.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JAMES MURPHY.

\Vitnesses:

R. J. PLUMB, OTIS B. HoUoH. 

